PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) — Former R.I. Governor Lincoln Chafee suspended his campaign for president Sunday, ending his second bid for the nation’s top elected office.

Chafee, who was running as a Libertarian, made the announcement Sunday on Facebook.

“[A]fter a tremendous amount of thought, I am no longer going to be a candidate for our Party’s nomination,” he wrote. “I look forward to helping other Libertarians seeking office.”

Chafee has served as a mayor, U.S. senator and governor, following in the footsteps of his father, the late John Chafee. He shed his Republican affiliation in 2007 to become an independent, but then joined the Democratic Party in 2013. He ran unsuccessfully for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2016 when he earned infamy for his push to have the U.S. adopt the metric system.

Chafee moved to Wyoming and became a Libertarian last year.

In his post Sunday, Chafee wrote, “I enjoy campaigns. It is rewarding to participate in our electoral process; to exchange ideas with other candidates, to offer to the voters our experiences, visions for the future and open to inspection our past records.”

“This adventure obviously changed with the frightening corona virus outbreak even as our campaign made a successful transfer to virtual connections via social media,” he said.

Read his full statement below:

I enjoy campaigns. It is rewarding to participate in our electoral process; to exchange ideas with other candidates, to offer to the voters our experiences, visions for the future and open to inspection our past records.

As a new Libertarian I entered the race for the nomination for President and have met Libertarians from California to Alabama to New Hampshire. This adventure obviously changed with the frightening corona virus outbreak even as our campaign made a successful transfer to virtual connections via social media.

However after a tremendous amount of thought, I am no longer going to be a candidate for our Party’s nomination. I look forward to helping other Libertarians seeking office.

I share with Libertarians many views but especially our aversion to foreign entanglements. In the eighteen years since I voted against the Iraq war I have experienced the difficulty of having intelligent discussions on American foreign policy and the use of our military overseas. It is almost a forbidden subject. Others who have tried, such as Ron Paul and recently, Tulsi Gabbard I’m sure would agree. The invasion of Iraq was based on a falsehood, a falsehood supported by so many in government and the media. The ramification of this mistake is with us today as we face the Covid 19 epidemic trillions in unnecessary debt.

I am still motivated by my personal experiences as an anti war candidate but accept that the timing is difficult for me as a Libertarian in 2020. Thank you to supporters and volunteers, your energy, passion and smarts added to the joy of campaigning!

Stay safe, best wishes.

Lincoln Chafee

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